Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper walks with President Obama during the North American Leaders Summit in Toluca, Mexico, on Feb. 19. / Sean Kilpatrick, AP

by Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

by Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

President Obama praised Gap on Wednesday after the company announced plans to raise the minimum wage it pays its U.S. workers to $10 per hour.

"I applaud Gap Inc. for announcing that they intend to raise wages for their employees beginning this year â?? a decision that will benefit about 65,000 workers in the U.S.," Obama said in a statement.

Glenn Murphy, the chairman and CEO of Gap, says the chain will raise wages to $9 per hour in 2014 and $10 per hour in 2015. The wage increase will affect all six of Gap's brands, which include Old Navy and Banana Republic.

"After many months of consideration, we've made a business decision that's right for our brands, good for our people and beneficial to our customers," Murphy wrote in a message on the company's website.

Last week, Obama signed an executive order that will hike the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for workers under federal contracts starting next year.

Obama is pushing Congress to pass legislation that would lead to the minimum wage being gradually increased to $10.10 for all workers by the end of his presidency. The push faces stiff resistance in the GOP-controlled House.

Republicans point to a report published Tuesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that shows raising the federal minimum wage could help lift 900,000 workers out of poverty but at a cost of as many as 500,000 jobs.

The White House countered that dozens of economists have concluded that a hike in the minimum wage would be a boost to the economy without having a significant effect on employment levels.